What Do You Wish You Would've Known When You First Started Raising Chickens?

[SandyRiverChick]

I love all of this, thank you! Can you tell me more about a rooster back out plan? What would be reasons to get rid of roosters? (Right now I only have 1 but will be adding another 1 in a few months)
Also, what's wrong w/ the deep litter method?

Thanks again!

Well this list is about what I didn't know when I started out and what I've since learned. Not all Roosters are great, you might really change your mind later. I've had to get rid of 2. Attacking my kids is not okay, spurs can do serious damage, over breeding is hard on the ladies, etc. etc. The first one went off to a local farm. I should have mentioned this is why I get purebreds, people are more inclined to want them. Next Rooster that I didn't want, I was able to trade along with a same breed hen, as a breeding pair.

I've grown from a very small dog house coop to a very large walk in coop and I've tried all different types of flooring, no flooring and methods such as "deep litter." For me personally, my current coop situation with roost bars far enough from walks to not get poop walls and poop boards that I clean daily = nice clean coop every day not just deep litter clean out day. My coop is walk in, so it's nice to not walk through a poo mess. Deep litter is great for some, but I personally don't prefer it.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Also agree on all points except deep litter, I use deep litter and it works great for me

I'm not sure what your coop is like but for mine after trying all methods that I'm aware of, I'm happiest with poop trays filled with sand + stall fresh/PDZ. The benefits to me have been clean coop every day not just clean out day, no smell, no respiratory concern for the girls, always dry, weekly manure for garden/compost. I clean poo every day into a bucket with a lid then transfer to compost or landscaping weekly. Now, when friends and relatives come visit, I'm proud to tour my coop with them. Kids can walk in and collect eggs without dealing with a lot of chicken poo. Just me, I'm really content with my current process.

 

[QiyeTLyriQue]

You've been given a lot of great advice here. The only thing I can think to add to it is have tarps available to cover the sides of the run for wind control in addition to the roof tarp which has been mentioned. Birds don't like strong wind. We have a large tree log - about two feet in circumference, in the run. They like to lay behind it when they want to get out of the wind, in addition to placing tarps where and as needed. I have found a persistent wind above 12 mph annoys them.
Also, have a place for them to dust / dirt bathe. I used to think they needed sand only for dirt baths, however we use the deep litter method and they love bathing in the cool dirt in the shade. They have sunny sand areas in the yard when they want a sand bath. Our soil is all sand so we never have to buy any.

I think my chickens got acclimated to the wind bc where I live there's lots of wind pretty regularly (up to 30mph-50mph) and I bought them locally, but I will definitely add some wind barrier just in case. They can tolerate it better than me lol

And I created a kiddie pool-sized hole for their dirt bath. I was told to add ash w/ dirt or sand.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Right now my coop is super bare, mostly due to the construction... but what kind of clutter should I add?

Have fun with this. I have a few chicken benches that they can get on and under. 2 are just railroad ties on stumps but one is literally a bench, a wood and leather settee that I didn't want anymore. My son wants me to put an old TV out there in front of it and a lamp, LOL!

 

[Bawkbok]

And I created a kiddie pool-sized hole for their dirt bath. I was told to add ash w/ dirt or sand.

We used to have a plastic kiddie pool for them but when it rains it never dries out so I eliminated it. We had it filled with 3/4 dirt and 1/4 ash from the fire pit. We added a bag of sand just because it was not being used for anything else. They seem to prefer the dirt vs sand baths here, I think because the sand is coarse and the dirt is from our compost pile, much softer; really gets into their feathers. The sand has a tendency to roll right off. I love the dust cloud as they shake it off.

 

[FrostRanger]

I'm not sure what your coop is like but for mine after trying all methods that I'm aware of, I'm happiest with poop trays filled with sand + stall fresh/PDZ. The benefits to me have been clean coop every day not just clean out day, no smell, no respiratory concern for the girls, always dry, weekly manure for garden/compost. I clean poo every day into a bucket with a lid then transfer to compost or landscaping weekly. Now, when friends and relatives come visit, I'm proud to tour my coop with them. Kids can walk in and collect eggs without dealing with a lot of chicken poo. Just me, I'm really content with my current process.

Everyone's setup is indeed a bit different. I never had any issues with odor or excess moisture even though it gets hot, humid and rainy here. If anything with all the pine shavings it usually smells pretty nice (unless of course someone dropped a fresh cecal poop lol). I like deep litter as it's less work and the birds do the work of composting for me. Those birds can turn a load of yard waste into nice compost like nobody's business and it gives them stuff to dig through

 

[gretchenconnect]

Hi! Sounds like you have a good plan. I'll answer your questions (in order) based on my experiences.
1. I'm integrating chicks I've been raising for the first time this year with my hens. See but no touch method. I'm going to wait until they are close to the same size before letting them together.
2. You can definitely spoil chickens! It's recommended to keep treats below 10% of their diet. One thing they LOVE is if you occasionally wet down their food and make a mash. That way they get a special "treat" while still getting their nutrients from regular feed.
3. My chickens switch egg boxes all the time. I keep a fake egg in each and I've noticed they swap around if one is "taken."
4. Yes! Gloves, corid, bluekote, calcium d3, saline, electrolytes. I'm sure more but can't think of what else is in there.

Good luck with your coop build! Always make it much bigger than you think.

also organic apple cider vinegar. When I integrate new chicks to the flock, i wait till they are fully feathered. I have kept them in a pen with chicken wire separated them from the main flock (this way they can see and interact a little bit). Once they are feathered out I open a door between the 2 areas but i secure it so that the young birds can get through the opening to their old pen but not the full-grown birds, that way they have a safe spot if needed. Never had any problems when doing this.

 

[Iluveggers]

I’m glad I have a covered run. There are 2 additional uncovered fenced areas off of that. We get snow where I am, but usually a few inches to a foot, and then it melts. A week goes by and we get more, and then it melts. This winter, we had about a month (if not more) with FEET of snow. I keep my covered run tarped with a little space open at the top for air. Thank GOODNESS, otherwise my chickens would have stayed in the coop that entire time. A few days is one thing, but that was a long time. I did open the door to let them out anyway, but there was a shoveled path between the 5 feet of snow in the backyard and although a couple would stand in the doorway and eat the trapped snow where I stepped, no one would venture out much more than that. It also stays nice and dry, and I don’t add a separate dust bath because they dug a little indent in the covered run where the like to dust bathe.

 

[QiyeTLyriQue]

I’m glad I have a covered run. There are 2 additional uncovered fenced areas off of that. We get snow where I am, but usually a few inches to a foot, and then it melts. A week goes by and we get more, and then it melts. This winter, we had about a month (if not more) with FEET of snow. I keep my covered run tarped with a little space open at the top for air. Thank GOODNESS, otherwise my chickens would have stayed in the coop that entire time. A few days is one thing, but that was a long time. I did open the door to let them out anyway, but there was a shoveled path between the 5 feet of snow in the backyard and although a couple would stand in the doorway and eat the trapped snow where I stepped, no one would venture out much more than that. It also stays nice and dry, and I don’t add a separate dust bath because they dug a little indent in the covered run where the like to dust bathe.

Thankfully I may get a day or 2 a year of snow and it's usually melted within a couple hours.

My weather issue will be the summer bc I live in the desert and it gets HOT (triple digits hot). My preparation is making water available everywhere where my chickens could be and then creating additional shade areas. A local farmer also recommended freezing fruit like watermelon for them to snack on and keep cool.